Chapter 382 Chapter 383: Not Used
Zhou Huaian rubbed his still swollen head, got out of bed, put on his shoes, walked to the dressing mirror, smoothed his crew cut, and then walked out.
Looking at the spacious and tidy courtyard, he stretched himself, and the dog lying at the door ran over, wagging its tail.
Zhou Huaian rubbed the dog's head and said, "Keep your ears up and be alert. Look after the house. I'll take you up the mountain tomorrow."
“Woof woof!” Wangcai and Lai Fu seemed to understand and circled around him happily.
When Yang's mother saw Zhou Huaian coming out, she quickly scooped a basin of hot water for him and said, "Huaian, wash your face and relax."
"Mom, I'll do it, I'll do it." Zhou Huaian hurried over to take the porcelain basin, carried it out and placed it on the basin rack in the corner. He washed his face and felt much better. "Yan'er, I'll go to Yiding's house and call him to eat!"
"Wait!" Yang Chunyan came out with a porcelain bowl and handed it to him, "Bring him a few pieces of steamed cake, just in case he doesn't come."
"Okay!" Zhou Huaian took the porcelain bowl and went out to see Zhou Jiakang and others skipping rope at the door. "Children, is it comfortable to live in the new house?"
"An Yi!" Zhou Xiaoqian said, "Dad, I have my own room now."
Zhou Jiakang raised his hand, "Me too!"
Zhou Huaian rubbed him and said, "Little thing, you dare to sleep alone? Just don't cry and look for your mother and father in the middle of the night."
Zhou Jiakang puffed out his chest and said, "I dare to go to the toilet alone. I won't cry and look for my mother and husband!"
"..." Zhou Huaian walked away with the porcelain bowl in his hand: You little thing that exposes other people's scars, you are not obedient at all!
Yang Chunyan and her mother finished cooking. After a while, Zhou Huaian came back alone. "You guessed it right. That guy didn't want to get up. He said he could just eat steamed cakes after waking up."
Yang Chunyan nodded, "I saw that he drank quite a bit of wine at noon."
After the three of them sat down, Zhou Huaian looked at her and said, "It's so quiet all of a sudden. I'm still a little uncomfortable!"
"We used to have more than a dozen people eating together, but now there are only three of us. I think mom and the others are not used to it." Yang Chunyan said, thinking about the job of delivering food tomorrow morning, "Will you deliver the food tomorrow or will my third brother?"
Zhou Huaian: "Brother San drove the tractor and brought back the bicycles, our sewing machines, and the radio. Yiding and I have an appointment to go up the mountain to look for beehives tomorrow morning."
Yang Chunyan: "Go to the old house with your third brother later and bring the chicken back."
"Yes." Zhou Huaian picked up a piece of pea tip with chopsticks, "Would you like some food?"
Yang Chunyan nodded, "Just take whatever you like."
Mother Yang said, "The old house is so far away, it's not convenient to go there every time to get vegetables. I brought some Chinese cabbage, rapeseed, radish... and some Chinese cabbage and Chinese mustard. I'll plant them tomorrow morning, and the Chinese cabbage and rapeseed will be ready to eat soon."
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Outside the south wall is the vegetable field. We plowed it out when we plowed the hillside field, but we didn't have time to sow the vegetable seeds."
Mother Yang pointed to the front yard and asked, "What is the empty space at the base of the wall used for?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Keep it for planting flowers."
"I thought you kept it for growing vegetables." Mother Yang glared at her in disapproval, "It would be great if it were all paved with cement!"
Zhou Huaian: "Originally, there was a vegetable plot on the south wall, but later the old man said that the land outside the wall should be cleared, so the vegetable plot was moved outside."
Mother Yang: "I think that piece of land is quite big. We can open it up when we have time. We can plant early potatoes next month and have new potatoes to eat in the spring."
Yang Chunyan thought about the food they brought, "I forgot to tell you when I got home that day. A few days after paying the public grain tax, Huai'an bought more than a thousand kilograms of millet. It was enough to eat without adding miscellaneous grains."
After hearing this, Yang's mother looked at her disapprovingly, "Why didn't you stop Huai'an!"
Zhou Huaian said hurriedly: "I thought that there was not much grain left after paying the public grain tax at home. At that time, I heard Yiding said that there was grain to sell, so I decided to buy it without discussing it with Chunyan."
Seeing her son-in-law defending her daughter, Yang's mother was happy and could not blame them anymore. "Save it and eat it slowly. Don't waste it."
Zhou Huaian nodded, "It's still at Yiding's house. I'll bring it back tomorrow afternoon."
After the three of them had finished their meal, Zhou Huaian hung up the curtains and went next door to call Zhou Huaishan to go to the old house. Yang Chunyan and her daughter were winding a ball of yarn in the main room.
Yang Chunyan put the cashmere and cotton thread together on Yang's mother's wrist, and combined the two strands of thread into one to form a ball.
Cashmere yarn is relatively thin and does not withstand washing. Adding a strand of cotton yarn to the knitted fabric will not only make it washable, but the sweaters and pants made from it will also be soft and comfortable for babies to wear.
Cashmere was the name used back then, and it was later called goat wool. Although people were poor back then, the products were very authentic, and there was no need to worry about buying counterfeit products.
When Zhou Huaian and his brother arrived at the old house, they saw their mother and father picking garlic sprouts and celery on the steps. The old man was sitting on a chair rolling a cigarette, while Luo Qiaoling was lying on a small square table listening to the radio.
"Mom, is the food ready?"
Zhou's mother turned her head and looked at the two of them. "The eggs, chickens, and ducks have all been bought. The taro, potatoes, and green peppers are also ready. Tomorrow morning, we just need to go to the vegetable garden and gather the spinach, cabbage, and radishes."
Zhou Huaishan said, "Are the soybeans ready? Brother Huang said that there are more people making tofu and selling them in the city these days, and even soybeans are hard to buy!"
"I've bought them. I went to your third aunt's house to get today's. She doesn't have much left. When your uncle and his family left, I asked them to send 200 kilograms of soybeans over tomorrow."
Zhou Huaishan: "Then we will drive the tractor to the intersection tomorrow morning and pick you up."
Zhou Huaian walked over to the old man and sat down, then picked up a tobacco leaf and rolled it up. "Grandpa, let's go and have some peace and quiet now!"
The old man glanced at Zhou's father and said, "I think you old man is a little uncomfortable!"
Father Zhou looked up at the grandfather and grandson and said nothing. He thought that the old man was right. He was not used to the constant chatter of his grandchildren.
Zhou Huaian smiled and said, "You're not used to it either, are you?"
"You'll get used to it slowly." The old man sighed, "When a tree grows big, it branches out, and when a son grows up, he branches out. We can't just keep you here to accompany us old guys!"
Zhou Huaian gave him a nudge and looked at him with a playful smile, "If you miss us, just come over and stay for a few days! You can even help keep an eye on us!"
The old man smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go when I'm free."
"Hmm!" Zhou Huaian put the rolled tobacco leaves into his pipe, "Did you guys go to see the cows that day or didn't you do well?"
The old man shook his head. "Buying livestock is not like buying chicks. You have to look carefully and be satisfied with all aspects before you can buy. If you really can't make it, wait until the spring when the market is good and there are more livestock, so it will be easier to choose."
"Yes, pick it up when you're satisfied!" Zhou Huaian turned his head to look at Luo Qiaoling who was lying on the table listening to the radio attentively, "Qiaoling, is it fun at my aunt's house?"
Luo Qiaoling looked up and said, "Okay, Auntie, give me some cakes to eat."
Zhou's mother said, "After your cousin has finished her meal, she rushes to collect the dishes and wash the bowls, and feed the pigs. That's when I have time to go to the fields to pick garlic sprouts and cut celery. Otherwise, I don't know how long I would have been busy!"
(End of this chapter)
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